Reviews

It was...all right. The anime overall had very little driving plot, which can work out for an anime. I'll reference Mushishi as a case-in-point. This, however, is no Mushishi. As in, there was no struggle to be had here, beyond the day in and day out life of the main characters (Shizuku, Haru and Asako). This works early on as it establishes character personalities and traits, as well as their base motivations. But then that's all there is. Thirteen episodes of Shizuku and Haru falling, and then falling out, then falling in again, of love. If you can really ever call it that. It's more along the lines of an infatuation, which is cute, but I see no further progress in their relationship past something like episode seven. There is an introduction of a third interested party, but this love-triangle is only to distract you from the fact that nothing is actually happening.

This anime needs a second season. I think they were perhaps leading up into getting one, but I've heard the sales haven't been good for this show, which is actually somewhat disappointing. Maybe if they had given the fans some form of fulfillment there would be more people excited for this sort of series. It's a good, solid and decent series. Just don't expect anyone to get with anybody, and for characters you think to be relevant to drift away without a mention (like Shizuku's brother - only shown in a single episode being demonic). There were too many loose strings by the end that the audience is left with absolutely zero fulfillment for their invested hours.

So, in the end, this is a fun, quirky, and bright series. I adored the opening. The rooster was entertaining. The characters and amusing mood shifts are worth the twenty minutes per episode. Shizuku is a blessing and a cool, refreshing breeze to the heroines of other romantic animes; she sticks up for herself, doesn't just roll over when male characters get possessive, and she isn't, well, stupid to put it bluntly. But failure to deliver on teased back story events, failure to give me a proper resolution, and a failure to uphold the base promise of a romance (characters actually getting somewhere in a relationship and us actually seeing that physically, somehow) makes My Little Monster a seven in my books.

I hope the manga has that sense of fulfillment I'm looking for, as that's slated to finish up in August.